Fix me

Chapter 15

Song on the side...................................................................................................................................................

Chapter 15

I waited until I could sit up without crying out and my bruises had faded enough to cover up with make-up until I went back to school. In total, I had missed a week. The Monday I went back, I was relieved. The worst was over. Jeremy had found me and gotten what he wanted. I didn’t constantly have to look over in fear of the inevitable.

            I was worried about seeing Hunter again. He had tried calling me multiple times over the past six days, but I had ignored all of them. He left messages, but I had deleted them without bothering to listen to them. I was scared. I knew that if I answered my phone, he would be able to tell I was lying about acquiring the flu. He would ask what was really going on and I was afraid I would end up telling him.

            And so, to force myself not to pick up my phone every time it rang, I turned it off, hiding it out of view in my dresser. When I turned my phone on again Monday morning, I had fourteen missed calls and seven text messages. I didn’t read them.

            On the bus, my fingers kept twitching, wanted to grab my phone from my back pocket and answer him, but logic took over and I knew I couldn’t. So I twisted my fingers together, hard, and concentrated on anything else.

            “I talked to him on Saturday,” The junior girl from the back was telling her friend. “He said he didn’t want to have anything to do with me or the kid. He said it was all just one big mistake. Can you believe that?” She sniffled and I knew she was crying. I concentrated on her problem because it was easier than thinking about mine.

            “What a bastard,” her friend said, a little too enthusiastically. “You don’t even need him. There are plenty of other women in the same situation as you.” In my backpack, my phone buzzed, signaling that I had a new text message. I bit my tongue, telling myself to ignore it.

            “But they’re not in high school,” junior girl said. Her friend had nothing to say to that and the rest of the bus ride was silent. There was a little drizzle starting up, darkening my mood.

            The bus came to a slow stop outside the front doors of the school. I closed my eyes and took a moment to calm down. The worst was over. I had to remember that. I pulled out a small compact mirror, checking one last time to make sure my bruises remained out of view. Satisfied that the make-up was still doing its job, I put the mirror away and stood, easing into the aisle in the middle of the bus behind a freshman to get off of the bus.

            I could still hear Junior Girl’s crying from behind me. I tried to ignore her as best I could. Listening in on her problems was not as therapeutic as I had thought it would be.

            I didn’t bother rushing to my locker before first bell. I knew Hunter would be there, waiting for me. I also knew that I might as well just get it over with. I could not avoid him forever and he was painfully aware of that fact.

            Sure enough, as I rounded to corner, there he was, leaning against the long metal door with his arms crossed over his chest. He was wearing a loose fitting white T-shirt that revealed his tattoos. I never noticed before, but his arms were not covered with one big image, but rather smaller ones, all linked together to create a design of symbols, pictures, and designs. His dark jeans were ripped in multiple places and covered part of his red, tattered sneakers. When he turned to face me, he flicked his longish hair out of his eyes, revealing deep shades of brown.